Data communication method and system, data sending/receiving apparatus

ABSTRACT

A data communication method includes: a Radio Network Controller (RNC) sends a notification message to a Node B to instruct the Node B to perform proper operations after a specific event occurs on the User Equipment (UE). A data communication system, a data sending apparatus and a data receiving apparatus are also provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Through the technical solution under the present disclosure, when specific events such as cell handover, disconnection and state transition occur on the UE, the RNC that obtains the event information may send a notification message to Node B to instruct the Node B to perform proper operations. Therefore, the Node B is prevented from continuing to send the buffered UE data from the source cell; and in the Cell_FACH state, the present disclosure saves the radio channel resources, shortens the transmission delay, and reduces the transmission packet loss ratio.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/CN2007/071341, filed on Dec. 27, 2007, which claims the benefitof priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 200710004556.8, filed onJan. 10, 2007, titled “DATA COMMUNICATION METHOD AND SYSTEM, DATASENDING/RECEIVING APPARATUS”, the entire contents of all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present disclosure relates to the communication field, and inparticular, to a data communication method and system, and a datasending apparatus and a data receiving apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Starting from Release 5 (R5), the 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) provides a High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) mechanism toenable high-speed transmission of downlink packets in the air interface.This mechanism adds processing of a MAC-hs layer in addition to theMedia Access Control (MAC) layer and the physical layer. The MAC-hslayer comes out of a base station, Node B, and is implemented throughinteraction between the High Speed Downlink Shared CHannel (HS-DSCH),High Speed Physical Downlink Shared CHannel (HS-PDSCH), High Speeddownlink Shared Control CHannel (HS-SCCH), and HS-DSCH Dedicated uplinkPhysical Control CHannel (HS-DPCCH). The channel features of HS-SCCH,HS-DPCCH and HS-DSCH are configured by the Radio Network Controller(RNC) for a User Equipment (UE) at the time of setting up a radiobearer.

The current protocol stipulates that only the UE in the Cell_DedicatedCHannel (Cell_DCH) state can receive data on the HSDPA related channels.The UE in the Cell_Forward Access Channel (Cell_FACH) state lacks thededicated control channel and the uplink auxiliary control channelapplicable to the HSDPA, and therefore, cannot receive data on the HSDPArelated channels. Moreover, the information on the UE in the Cell_FACHstate is stored only on the RNC, and the Node B stores no UEinformation.

In the conventional art, the data communication process of the UE in theCell_FACH state comes in two modes:

The RNC schedules a resource for the UE, sends the data directed to theUE to the Node B, and specifies the time of sending the data to each UE.The Node B does not schedule the resource, but sends the data to thecorresponding UE directly at the time specified by the RNC.

The RNC sends the data directed to the UE to the Node B first. Afterreceiving the data directed to the UE, the Node B schedules the resourceand selects a proper time for sending the data to the corresponding UEaccording to the resource utilization state.

However, in the conventional art, when the UE undergoes certain events,such as cell handover, disconnection, and state transition, the UEnotifies the event information to the RNC. However, the Node B is notaware of it and continues to send the buffered UE data from the sourcecell, which leads to waste of radio channel resources.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a datacommunication method and system, a data sending apparatus, and a datareceiving apparatus, so as to overcome waste of radio channel resourcesof the UE in the Cell_FACH state.

A data communication method includes: sending, by an RNC, a notificationmessage to a Node B to instruct the Node B to perform proper operationsafter a specific event occurs on a UE.

A data communication system includes: an RNC, adapted to send anotification message to a Node B after a specific event occurs on a UE;and a Node B, adapted to receive the notification message and performproper operations according to the notification message.

A data sending apparatus includes: a data sending module, adapted tosend data of a UE to a Node B; and a notification message sendingmodule, adapted to send a notification message to the Node B after aspecific event occurs on the UE.

A data receiving apparatus includes: a data obtaining module, adapted toreceive data of a UE and a notification message from an RNC; and a dataprocessing module, adapted to perform proper operations according to thenotification message received by the data obtaining module.

The foregoing technical solution discloses that in method, system andapparatus provided in embodiments of the present disclosure, the RNCsends a notification message to Node B to instruct the Node B to performproper operations after a specific event occurs on the UE. In this way,when specific events such as cell handover, disconnection and statetransition occur on the UE, the RNC that obtains the event informationmay send a notification message to the Node B to instruct the Node B toperform proper operations. Therefore, the Node B is prevented fromcontinuing to send the buffered data of the UE from the source cell,thus saving the radio channel resources, shortening the transmissiondelay, and reducing the transmission packet loss ratio.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a data communication method of an UE in theCell_FACH state in the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a signaling flowchart of a data communication method of an UEin the Cell_FACH state in the first embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method provided in the first embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method provided in the second embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method provided in the third embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a data communication system of an UE in theCell_FACH state in the second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a data sending apparatus of an UE in theCell_FACH state in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a data receiving apparatus of an UE in theCell_FACH state in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In order to make the technical solution, objectives and merits of thepresent disclosure clearer, a detailed description of the presentdisclosure is hereinafter given by reference to accompanying drawingsand exemplary embodiments.

Embodiment 1

A data communication method applicable to the UE in the Cell_FACH stateis provided in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the method includes the following steps:

Step S102: The RNC sends data of the UE, a UE ID (which indicates the UEcorresponding to the data) and/or a data number to the Node B(preferably, through a Framing Protocol (FP)), or the RNC sends only thedata without carrying the UE ID or data number.

Step S104: The RNC preferably sends a notification message (in thisembodiment, a Cell_FACH UE message) to Node B through an NBAP protocolafter a specific event occurs on the UE.

Step S106: The Node B performs proper operations in response to thenotification message.

The foregoing process can be understood by reference to FIG. 2.

For example, if an FP protocol frame carries data of multiple UEs,multiple UE IDs are required to correspond to the data. A UE ID may be aUMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Radio Network TemporaryIdentifier (RNTI), which is abbreviated as U-RNTI, Cell-Radio NetworkTemporary Identifier (C-RNTI), or another identifier.

The specific events include but are not limited to: cell reselection,state transition, and release of radio resource control connection.

The foregoing notification message may be a data conversion cellmessage, UE cell reselection message, data release command message, oranother newly defined message.

Besides, the foregoing notification message carries: UE ID information,target cell information, or data number information, or any combinationthereof. When a UE performs cell reselection in the Node B, the RNCcarries the target cell information, or the RNC carries the target cellinformation directly without considering whether the UE performs cellreselection within the Node B.

Besides, the foregoing notification message may further carry actionindication information. The action indication information instructs theNode B to: release the UE context, release data, transfer data to thetarget cell for sending, suspend sending, or resume sending, or anycombination thereof.

S106 is detailed below, where the Node B may adopt multiple processingmodes, depending on the information carried in the notification message.

Instance 1

As shown in FIG. 3, the Node B in this embodiment performs the followingsteps:

Step S302: The Node B searches for the buffered data of thecorresponding UE by matching the received UE ID with the UE IDinformation carried in the notification message.

Step S304: The Node B releases the data found in step S302 if thenotification message carries no target cell ID.

Step S306: If the notification message carries a target cell ID, theNode B transfers the data found in step S302 to the buffer of the targetcell, and schedules the data for sending in the target cell.

In step S306, if the target cell is covered by this Node B, the Node Btransfers the data to the target cell for processing (S306-2); if thetarget cell is not covered by this Node B, the data is deleted ortransferred to the other Node B (step S306-4).

Besides, if the RNC in step S102 sends no UE ID, Node B decodes theheader of the data sent by the RNC first in step S302, and obtains theUE ID in the header.

In this embodiment, Node B searches for data through the UE ID. Inpractice, the present disclosure is not limited to that. In the secondinstance described below, Node B searches for data through a datanumber.

Instance 2

As shown in FIG. 4, the Node B in this embodiment performs the followingsteps:

Step S402: The Node B searches for the buffered data of thecorresponding UE by matching the received data number with the datanumber information carried in the notification message.

Step S404: If the notification message carries a target cell ID, theNode B transfers the data found in step S402 to the buffer of the targetcell, and schedules the data for sending in the target cell.

Step S406: The Node B releases the data found in step S402 if thenotification message carries no target cell ID.

In step S406, if the target cell is covered by this Node B, the Node Btransfers the data to the target cell for processing (S406-2); if thetarget cell is not covered by this Node B, the data is deleted ortransferred to the other Node B (step S406-4).

It is worthy of attention that the Node B described in the foregoinginstance performs operations according to the target cell ID, which isfor the exemplary purpose only. The example is intended for betterunderstanding rather than limitation of the present disclosure.

Instance 3

As shown in FIG. 5, the Node B in this embodiment performs the followingsteps:

Step S502: The Node B searches for the buffered data of thecorresponding UE by matching the received UE ID with the UE IDinformation carried in the notification message.

Step S504: The Node B performs the relevant operations according to theaction indication information carried in the notification message.

Specifically, step S504 further includes:

If the action indication information carried in the notification messageinstructs the Node B to transfer the data to the target cell forsending, the Node B transfers the data found in step S502 to the bufferof the target cell, and schedules the data for sending in the targetcell (step S504-2).

If the action indication information instructs the Node B to release thedata or release the UE context, the Node B releases the data found instep S502 (step S504-4).

If the action indication information does not indicate transferring ofthe data to the target cell, releasing of the UE context, or releasingof the data, but indicates suspension of sending, the Node B suspendsscheduling of sending the data found in step S502 (step S504-6).

Besides, if no suspension of scheduling is indicated, the Node B beginsto schedule sending of the data of the UE (step S504-8).

The process in this instance is for exemplary purpose only. In practice,the notification message may carry no action indication of suspendingthe sending process or resuming the sending process; and accordingly,the operations of Node B vary with the action indication.

The foregoing process reveals that:

When the RNC detects cell reselection, state transition or RRCconnection release on the UE, the RNC notifies the Node B if no furtherdata needs to be sent from the source cell, and the Node B may stopsending data to the UE or transfer the data to the target cell forsending. This saves the radio channel resources of the source cell.Moreover, the data may be transferred to the target cell for sending,thus avoiding data loss and preventing increase of data transmissiondelay caused by retransmission of the RLC.

Embodiment 2

A data communication system applicable to the UE in the Cell_FACH stateis provided in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the data communication system 600 includes: a datasending module 602, located at the RNC side and adapted to send one ormore of these items to a Node B: data of the UE, UE ID, and data number;a notification message sending module 604, located at the RNC side andadapted to send a notification message to the Node B after the RNCdetermines that a specific event occurs on the UE; a data obtainingmodule 606, located at the Node B side and adapted to: receive theinformation from the data sending module 602, respond to thenotification message, and obtain the buffer data of the UE; and a dataprocessing module 608, located at the Node B side and adapted to processthe data obtained by the data obtaining module 606

The notification message sent by the notification message sending module604 carries: UE ID information, target cell information, or data numberinformation, or any combination thereof. Moreover, the notificationmessage carries action indication information. The action indicationinformation instructs the Node B to: release the UE context, releasedata, transfer data to the target cell for sending, suspend sending, orresume sending, or any combination thereof.

The data obtaining module 606 searches for the buffered data of thecorresponding UE by matching the UE ID/data number sent by the datasending module 602 with the UE ID information/data number informationcarried in the notification message.

The data processing module 608 performs the following operationsaccording to the action indication information carried in thenotification message:

If the action indication information carried in the notification messageindicates transferring of the data to the target cell for sending, thedata processing module 608 transfers the data obtained by the dataobtaining module 606 to the buffer of the target cell, and schedules thedata for sending in the target cell.

If the action indication information indicates releasing of the data orreleasing of the UE context, the data processing module 608 releases thedata obtained by the data obtaining module 606.

If the action indication information does not indicate transferring ofdata to the target cell, releasing of the UE context, or releasing ofthe data, but indicates suspension of sending, the data processingmodule 608 suspends scheduling of sending the data obtained by the dataobtaining module 606.

If the action indication information does not indicate UE context,transferring of data to the target cell, releasing of the data, orsuspension of sending, the data processing module 608 begins to schedulesending of the data obtained by the data obtaining module 606.

Embodiment 3

A data sending apparatus applicable to the UE in the Cell_FACH state isprovided in this embodiment. The apparatus is located at the RNC side.

As shown in FIG. 7, the data sending apparatus 700 includes: a datasending module 702, adapted to send one or more of these items to a NodeB: data of the UE, UE ID, and data number; and a notification messagesending module 704, adapted to send a notification message to the Node Bwhen a specific event occurs on the UE.

A specific event may be: cell reselection, state transition, or releaseof the radio resource control connection. The notification messagesending module 704 may attach one or more of these items into thenotification message: UE ID information, target cell information, anddata number information. The notification message sending module 704 mayfurther attach action indication information into the notificationmessage to instruct Node B to: release the UE context, release the data,transfer the data to the target cell for sending, suspend sending, orresume sending, or any combination thereof.

Embodiment 4

A data receiving apparatus applicable to the UE in the Cell_FACH stateis provided in this embodiment. The apparatus is located at the Node Bside.

As shown in FIG. 8, the data receiving apparatus 800 includes: a dataobtaining module 802, adapted to receive one or more of these items fromthe RNC: data of the UE, UE ID, and data number, respond to thenotification message sent by the RNC when a specific event occurs on theUE, and obtain the buffered data of the corresponding UE; and a dataprocessing module 804, adapted to process the data obtained by the dataobtaining module 802.

The notification message sent by the RNC carries: UE ID information,target cell information, data number information, or any combinationthereof. In this way, the data obtaining module 802 searches for thebuffered data of the corresponding UE by matching the UE ID/data numberpreviously received from the RNC with the UE ID information/data numberinformation carried in the notification message. Afterwards, the dataprocessing module 804 may release the data found by the data obtainingmodule 802; and transfer the found data to the buffer of the targetcell, and schedule sending of the data in the target cell, if thenotification message carries target cell information.

Besides, if the notification message carries action indicationinformation, the data processing module 804 may perform the followingpreset operations according to the action indication information:

(1) Transferring the data found by the data obtaining module 802 to thebuffer of the target cell and scheduling the data for sending in thetarget cell, if the action indication information carried in thenotification message indicates transferring of data to the target cellfor sending.

(2) Releasing the data found by the data obtaining module 802, if theaction indication information indicates releasing of the data orreleasing of the UE context.

(3) Suspending scheduling of sending the data found by the dataobtaining module 802, if the action indication information does notindicate transferring of data to the target cell, releasing of the UEcontext, or releasing of the data, but indicates suspension of sending.

(4) Beginning to schedule sending of the data found by the dataobtaining module 802, if the action indication information does notindicate releasing of the UE context, transferring of data to the targetcell, releasing of the data, or suspension of sending.

When a UE in the Cell_FACH state undergoes an event such as cellreselection, state transition, or release of the RRC connection, thetechnical solution under the present disclosure can reduce or try toavoid waste of radio channel resources, shorten the transmission delayand reduce the transmission packet loss ratio.

Although the disclosure has been described through some exemplaryembodiments, the disclosure is not limited to such embodiments. It isapparent that those skilled in the art can make various modificationsand variations to the present disclosure without departing from thespirit and scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure is intendedto cover the modifications and variations provided that they fall in thescope of protection defined by the following claims or theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A data communication method for data management applicable to a User Equipment (UE) in a Cell_Forward Access Channel (Cell_FACH) state, the method comprising: receiving, by a Node B, data of one or more UEs in a Cell_FACH state from a Radio Network Controller (RNC), wherein the data of the one or more UEs is received through a frame which carries information that identifies the one or more UEs; receiving, by the Node B, a notification message sent from the RNC, the notification message being related to a UE of the one or more UEs in the Cell_FACH state and in response to cell reselection of the UE in the Cell_FACH state, the notification message carrying information that identifies the UE; if there is buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message, transferring, by the Node B, the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message to a target cell for sending in the target cell if the target cell is controlled by the Node B; and deleting, by the Node B, the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message if the target cell is not controlled by the Node B; wherein the notification message further carries action indication information that instructs the Node B to transfer the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message to a target cell for sending in the target cell if the target cell is controlled by the Node B and to delete the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message if the target cell is not controlled by the Node B.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information to identify the UE comprises UE Identification (ID) information.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising buffering the data received from the RNC identified by the information such that the buffered data corresponds to the data received from the RNC identified by the information.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed in a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) compliant system.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a notification message comprises receiving the notification message sent from the RNC via a transport bearer for a common transport channel.
 6. An apparatus for data management applicable to a User Equipment (UE) in a Cell_Forward Access Channel (Cell_FACH) state, the apparatus comprising: a data sending module configured to send data of one or more UEs in a Cell_FACH state to a Node B, wherein the data of the one or more UEs is sent through a frame which carries information that identifies the one or more UEs; and a notification message sending module configured to send a notification message to the Node B, wherein the notification message is in response to cell reselection of a UE of the one or more UEs, wherein the notification message carries information that identifies the UE and action indication information that instructs the Node B to transfer buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message to a target cell for sending in the target cell if the target cell is controlled by the Node B and that instructs the Node B to delete the buffered data relate to the UE identified by the information in the notification message if the target cell is not controlled by the Node B; wherein the notification message further carries action indication information that instructs the Node B to transfer the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message to a target cell for sending in the target cell if the target cell is controlled by the Node B and to delete the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message if the target cell is not controlled by the Node B.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus is a radio network controller (RNC).
 8. An apparatus for data management applicable to a User Equipment (UE) in a Cell_Forward Access Channel (Cell_FACH) state, the apparatus comprising: a receiver configured to receive data of one or more UEs in a Cell_FACH state from a Radio Network Controller (RNC), wherein the data of the one or more UEs is received through a frame which carries information that identifies the one or more UEs; and a data buffer configured to buffer the data of the one or more UEs received from the RNC; wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a notification message from the RNC, the notification message carrying information that identifies a UE of the one or more UEs and in response to cell reselection of the UE; wherein the apparatus further comprises a processor configured to transfer buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message to a target cell for sending in the target cell if the target cell is controlled by the apparatus, and further configured to delete the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message if the target cell is not controlled by the apparatus; wherein the notification message further carries action indication information that instructs a Node B to transfer the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message to a target cell for sending in the target cell if the target cell is controlled by the Node B and to delete the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message if the target cell is not controlled by the Node B.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is a Node B.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the information to identify the UE comprises UE Identification (ID) information.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the notification message further carries action indication information that instructs the processor to transfer the buffered data related to the UE identified by the information in the notification message to the target cell for sending in the target cell. 